


Kiss Cam

by RyspositoWritings



Category: Castle
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 19:46:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3581652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyspositoWritings/pseuds/RyspositoWritings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr Prompt: Castle owed the boys floor seats for saving his life right? Well, Castle decides to buy a ticket for him and Beckett to go as well and the four are having a fun night until a certain blue eyed detective and his partner get on Kiss Cam. (no jenny au, and a get together fic please!(: thank you!!!!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss Cam

                                                            

 

Castle sauntered into the precinct with an envelope in his hands and a smile on his face. Esposito was on the phone and Ryan had just come back from the break room with a coffee for him and his partner when Castle slapped the envelope down in front of Esposito.

Esposito raised an eyebrow and told the person on the other line that he would call them back. “What’s this?”

“As promised, floor seats to the Knicks.”

“No way!” Esposito snatched the envelope and pulled the tickets out, his face lighting up as he looked at the colorful tickets.

Ryan set down the coffee and stepped over to them, his excitement evident on his face as he looked over Esposito’s shoulder.

“There are four tickets here.” Ryan said, trying to take them from Esposito to get a better look but Esposito gripped them like they were literal gold.

“Ah, that is because Beckett and I have nothing to do this weekend and I was able to score four tickets instead of two.”

“We’re goin’ too?” Beckett asked.

“Hey, Beckett!” Castle smiled when she stepped over to them. “Wanna go to the Knicks game this weekend?”

Beckett rolled her eyes. “I suppose a day of sitting in a tub and drinking wine can be replaced with sweaty guys chasing a basketball.” She shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”

“You know, Castle,” Ryan said, having finally been able to pry the tickets from Esposito’s grip. “You didn’t have to do this. We would have saved you anyway.”

“I know.” Castle shrugged. “But I wanted to. As you all have mentioned countless times before, I make a disgusting amount of money. Plus, I have connections. If you don’t want to take this as a thank you, just take it as an early Christmas gift or something.”

“Quite a few months early.” Ryan pointed out.

“But we accept.” Esposito added, plucking the tickets from Ryan’s hands and smiling down at them.

Ryan rolled his eyes and smiled. Esposito was such a little kid. Though, Ryan had to admit, he was incredibly excited too.

“We’ll make a day of it.” Castle said. “We’ll meet for a late lunch and then we can hang out until the game.”

“Sounds great.” Ryan said and Esposito nodded.

None of the boys were able to focus on the case for the rest of the day. Beckett was excited about the game, but she wasn’t as much of a fan as the three nerds she had to work with. When it got late and they were still talking about it, she ripped the envelope from Esposito’s hands.

“Hey!”

“Beckett, what-”

“None of you get to go if you don’t work tomorrow. Anyone mentions the Knicks at all for the rest of the week and I’m ripping up the tickets.”

The horrified looks of her partners were almost enough to get her to give them back, but she stood her ground. They still had to finish this case and if the boys didn’t focus, they were never going to.

“I’m going to put these tickets in a secret place and I’ll give them to you on game day.”

Three pairs of eyes looked from the tickets back to Beckett’s serious face and they nodded their agreement.

This was going to be a long week.

~.~.~

“What the hell are you guys doin’ here?” Beckett asked after opening the door to find Ryan and Esposito on the other side looking like excited five year olds. She hadn’t even thought about getting ready yet.

Ryan shrugged. “We don’t want to wait until 2:30 to meet up.”

Beckett sighed and opened the door wider to let them in. “Castle, the boys are here!” She called.

Castle poked his head out of the bedroom. “It’s barely noon.”

“Yes, but we work with children.”

Beckett already knew she was going to have to play mother. She felt like she and Castle were taking their two kids to a basketball game. And, because Castle himself was also a giant five year old, Beckett was going to be the only adult.

“Ryan was too excited.” Esposito said.

“You’re the one who called me at nine in the morning because you were too excited and didn’t know what to do.” Ryan said, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

“You said you weren’t going to tell them.”

“I lied.”

“Okay, boys.” Castle said. “Beckett and I are going to get ready and then we’ll all go to lunch earlier than planned, if only to dispel some of your pent up energy. But you do realize the game doesn’t start until seven. We’ve got a long time to wait.”

“As long as they’re out doing stuff, the time should go by quickly.” Beckett said.

Ryan and Esposito sat on the couch as Beckett and Castle disappeared into their bedroom.

“I told you they were going to treat us like kids.” Ryan said.

“So let ‘em.” Esposito shrugged. “It’ll be good practice. Besides, who can be angry when you’ve got floor seats to the Knicks?”

“Javi, this is so cool. I love having a rich friend.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I would like Castle if he wasn’t rich, of course, but, I dunno…”

“It’s nice to have the perks.” Esposito nodded. “I know man. Castle is an awesome guy, but he also has cool cars, money, and connections. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?”

They sat in silence for a time.

“We’re assholes.”

“Yep.”

Castle emerged from his bedroom followed closely by Beckett and the four of them made their way out of the apartment and to the elevators.

“Oh, crap, guys!” Beckett said. “I think I lost the tickets!”

The gasp heard all around the elevator made Beckett smile.

“I’m just kidding.” She laughed. “You should have seen your faces. I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance.”

“That was mean.” Esposito said.

“This is going to be a long day.” Ryan sighed.

“You’ll see.” Castle said, pressing the lobby button. “We’ll have so much fun, the day will go by fast.”

It didn’t.

At around two in the afternoon, Ryan asked what time it was for the eleventh time. For people who didn’t live in New York, spending a day in New York would be fun. To four people who had lived in New York their entire lives, there was nothing to do. Well, nothing as fun as going to the Knicks game. Everything they tried to do felt inferior. Castle suggested going to see a movie, but Ryan and Esposito knew they wouldn’t be able to sit still for two and a half hours without exploding. They ended up wandering around for a good hour and a half only to end up back at Castle’s place. Martha and Alexis were surprised to see them and tried to help in distracting them, but it seemed as if time was moving slower than normal.

Then, finally, as Beckett sat in the chair reading a book, Castle sat in the other chair pretending to write, and Ryan and Esposito were playing games on their phones, Castle looked up.

“It’s six o’clock, guys!” He said.

Ryan and Esposito looked at their phones and jumped up.

“Let’s go!” Esposito said.

“Already?” Beckett asked, looking up at the clock on the wall.

The boys were instantly back to acting like kids on a sugar high. They bounced up and down waiting for the elevator, bounced up and down in the elevator, and then bounced their legs up and down in the taxi. When they got there, the excitement of the people around them didn’t help either, and Beckett was pretty sure someone was going to have a heart attack before the night was over.

Castle bought everyone some food and they made it to their seats thankfully without spilling anything.

“These seats are amazing.” Ryan said, looking out at the court and smiling like this was the best night of his life.

“Castle, you are my best friend.” Esposito said.

“Thanks, Espo.” Ryan gave him a look.

“Just for tonight, Ry.” Esposito put an arm around Ryan’s shoulders. “After tonight, you and I go back to hardly talking to these people.”

“I’m offended.” Castle said jokingly. He knew the only way Ryan and Esposito could be closer is if they were in a relationship. And even then he wasn’t sure they could ever be closer than they were now.

The game began and the fans cheered. Every time the Knicks scored, Ryan and Esposito would either fist bump or hug, depending on how impressive it was. Beckett, not being a huge fan of the game, still got into it and cheered with the rest of the fans every time they scored. She had to admit, this was fun.

When they got to half time, Ryan and Esposito felt like their voices were going to give out from cheering by the time the game was over. The break in between was for the players, but thank god for it because the fans were also in need of a break.

“Does anyone need anything?” Castle asked. “More beer? Food? Merch?”

Ryan pointed to the cap he was wearing that Castle had bought for him at the start of the game. “I’m good.” He said.

He would feel more like a kid with Castle buying him things, but this whole experience was too exciting for him to care. If Castle wanted to buy him things, he was more than welcome.

“Ooh, kiss cam.” Esposito said, pointing. “Let’s see if any suckers get rejected.”

“What will you guys do if you get on kiss cam?” Ryan asked Castle and Beckett after they watched a few couples kiss and a father give his daughter a sloppy kiss on the forehead.

“I’d kiss her, of course.” Castle said.

“If I let you.” Beckett replied, smiling at him when he looked hurt.

They watched one guy lean in for a kiss only to have the girl hold her hand up to keep him from advancing further.

“Oh man, that’s got to hurt.” Esposito said, laughing.

“Poor guy.” Ryan agreed.

When the camera moved to a new couple, all four of them froze. Esposito stared wide eyed and Ryan’s face instantly flushed red.

Staring at them from the screen were their own terrified faces.

Castle smiled. “Well, go on, guys.” He said.

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other and barely heard the crowd cheering them on.

“It means nothing.” Esposito said.

“Right.” Ryan agreed. “Just a couple of dudes kissing. It’s not weird.”

“Hurry before they find another couple.” Castle said urgently.

Beckett and Castle watched them, wondering if they were going to go through with it.

Esposito looked up at the screen and then back at his partner. He swallowed and then grabbed the front of Ryan’s shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. The crowd cheered, some probably looked horrified, but for the most part it seemed everyone wanted to see the two men kiss.

As for Ryan and Esposito, they didn’t hear a thing. Ryan’s cap fell to the floor and he brought one hand up to Esposito’s jaw while Esposito kept his iron grip on the front of Ryan’s t shirt.

When they pulled away and the camera moved to another couple, they seemed to still be in their own world. They stared at each other and Ryan licked his lips.

Esposito suddenly felt the urge to go back in for another when he suddenly realized where he was. He let got of Ryan’s shirt and sat back. Ryan cleared his throat and leaned down to pick up his cap. They didn’t say anything. Even Castle and Beckett remained silent.

“I’m… gonna go pee.” Ryan said and quickly stood, leaving the other three to stew in the awkward silence.

When Ryan reached the bathroom, he couldn’t breathe. He ran into the first empty stall and took a second to compose himself. Never in his entire life had he seen fireworks when kissing anyone. That is, until five minutes ago. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was just like Esposito said. It meant nothing.

After a minute, Ryan finally left the stall and made his way back to his seat. Esposito gave him a weak smile and Ryan returned it. He sat down.

Castle and Beckett watched them, not even aware that the game had started up again.

Ryan pointed to the court. “Doesn’t matter what they do, we’re still gonna win this.”

Esposito blinked and then looked back at the court. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ve got this in the bag.”

And for the rest of the night, no one mentioned it.

~.~.~

As a matter of fact, no one mentioned it for an entire week. When anyone asked about the game, they would say it was fun and their team won. No one said a word about the kiss cam and no one asked.

Ryan and Esposito weren’t the same, though. Even though they never talked about it, the four of them still knew what happened and they were having a hard time forgetting it.

Every time Ryan and Esposito accidentally brushed their fingers against each other, they’d pull their hands back as if they’d been burned. They didn’t stand as close to each other as they used to and they stopped making each other coffee. It was as if the kiss drew them further apart.

Beckett and Castle noticed. It was hard to focus on anything else, really, when the two men who used to be best friends avoided each other like the plague. They watched as the boys hardly said a word to each other and it was as if the entire precinct could feel the tension.

On Friday night after the boys had left, Castle sat down in his usual chair while Beckett began packing up.

“We need to do something.” He said.

Beckett nodded her agreement. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Do they really think we haven’t noticed what they’re doing?”

“It’s an awkward situation, Castle. I dunno, they might get over it themselves.”

“But it wouldn’t be so awkward if they were just friends, which they clearly aren’t.” Castle shrugged. “I think they like each other, but they’re not going to say anything.”

“Or it’s just weird.” Beckett sighed. “Though, it is making it harder to work around here with them dancing around each other. I say we let them have the weekend to be alone and if they continue with this on Monday, we’ll talk to them about it. See if they can move past it.”

“But don’t you want them to be together?” Castle asked.

Beckett gave him a long look. “Honestly? Nothing would make me happier. It’s clear they need each other and there’s obvious sexual tension between them, but I also don’t want to force anything. If they’re meant to be together, they’ll figure it out. Took us a long time to figure it out too, you know.”

“But what if they don’t figure it out?”

Beckett gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. “They’re detectives, Castle. Their job is to figure things out.” She grabbed Castle’s hand when he stood. “Let’s go home.”

~.~.~

Esposito took a breath before reaching out and knocking on Ryan’s door. He had a key, just like Ryan had one to his place, but he didn’t feel comfortable using it today. He wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be comfortable again, really.

Ryan opened the door and his curious face appeared. “Javi?” He asked, surprised.

“Hey, Kev.”

Ryan stepped back and opened the door a little more. “What’s up?”

Esposito hesitated and tried to look anywhere but at his partner. “Uh… can we talk?”

Those words, no matter when they were said, always caused fear. But Ryan knew exactly why Esposito had said them, and the fear churning in his stomach made it hard to breathe.

“Sure. Come in.” Ryan stepped aside and then closed the door once Esposito had entered.

He took a look around the apartment and then sat on Ryan’s red couch. He’d given Ryan shit for that couch, but he eventually got used to it because, despite the fact that Ryan had found it on the street, it really was a good couch.

“What do you want to talk about?” Ryan asked, even though he knew exactly where this conversation was going. He sat on the other end of the couch.

Esposito took a deep breath. “We need to talk about it.” He said softly. “This week has been about the worst week of my life and I’m pretty sure the rest of the precinct is going to surprise us with an intervention on Monday.”

“Okay,” Ryan said, lifting one leg on the couch and turning so he could face his partner. “Let’s talk about it.”

Esposito chewed on some dead skin on his lip. “Right.” He swallowed and then turned to look at Ryan. “Well, first, I guess, what did you think of it?”

Ryan wasn’t expecting that to be the first thing. “Well,” He shrugged. “It was nice.”

Esposito nodded. “Nice is good.”

Then, softly, Ryan said, “Better than nice.”

Esposito was surprised to hear that and he hid his smile.

“It was… really good.” Ryan looked away, the same blush from that night creeping up his neck.

“Yeah.” Esposito said. “I… I think so too.”

Ryan looked back up at him. “Javi?”

“Yeah?”

Ryan hesitated. “Have… have you ever kissed someone and seen, I dunno, fireworks? Or maybe stars?”

Esposito smiled slightly and nodded. “Yeah.”

Ryan looked away again.

“But only once.” Esposito continued. “Last week at the Knicks game.”

Ryan looked back up at Esposito’s smiling face and practically launched himself on his partner, pushing him back against the arm of the couch and crashing their lips together in a desperate heated kiss.

Esposito wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist and Ryan straddled him on the couch, never breaking the kiss.

After a minute of licking and sucking and biting, Ryan pulled back, breathing hard. “That one was better.” He said.

Esposito chuckled and pulled Ryan down for another, softer kiss. “What are we supposed to tell everyone?” He asked.

Ryan shrugged. “Who cares? We have a whole weekend to figure it out.”

Esposito laughed. “I think it’s cute you think we’re going to spend the weekend trying to figure out what we’re gonna say to our partners.”

Ryan leaned down and kissed him hard. “I guess we can figure it out on Monday.”

 


End file.
